2022-08-08 Return Trip Sitka to Ketchikan

The canvas lady had finished her work on Thursday afternoon 8/4.  I had some provisioning to do but was eager to get started on the journey back to Ketchikan.  However, the weather forecasts in the area were grim, and there were commercial boats coming into port to wait it out.  I kept my VHF radio on while I was in the harbor, and I would hear the boats talking to each other.  Even though I was very eager to get underway I made the decision to wait until Monday morning to depart. 

My departure time for this first leg of the trip back home was dictated by the time of slack tide in Sergius Narrows.  This is one of those places where the prudent mariner goes through at slack tide. The Narrows are about 18 miles from Sitka, a distance I could easily cover in about 3 hours.  Slack tide was at 2:46 PM, so theoretically I should leave at about 11:30 AM.  But in these cases, I always seem to get antsy to leave, and I convince myself that if/when I get there early, I can just drift around waiting for the slack tide.  Better to get there early and wait than to get there late and miss the slack tide, or so the rationalization goes.

That's my excuse for pulling out of Sitka at 10 AM sharp, much too early for a 2:46 PM slack tide only 18 miles away.

It was a beautiful day in SE Alaska, and I took a few photos of the bridge in the channel before pulling away and getting underway.  I called the Sitka harbormaster to let them know I had vacated the slip.  I was in the harbor for 11 days.

On the way out of the area I passed the area they call "Old Sitka."  That's where the cruise ships dock.  They cannot come into the harbor area near town.  It is too narrow and too shallow, not to mention the breakwater that has been built that basically guards the entrance into town.

Even though I travelled much slower than I normally would I still arrived at Sergius Narrows well ahead of the 2:46 PM slack tide.  I got there about 1:20 PM.  There were a couple of boats drifting around, I assume they were waiting for the slack tide.  

As I approached the Narrows, I saw a few boats coming through from the other side, opposite of my direction of travel.  They were going with the current as I would be opposing it.  

I had been following about a 50' pleasure craft named "Huntress."  I think Huntress must have been a local boat with local knowledge.  Huntress went ahead and went through early, but did not follow the marked channel, instead taking a different route around a small island off to the right of the Narrows.  I figured it he was going through early that I would take a shot at it, so I started through about an hour and a half ahead of the slack tide.

I was definitely fighting the current as I went through.  Even though I revved up the RPM's on the engines I was only making about 4 knots.  But I figured since I was making forward progress and the boat seemed to be handling the opposing current OK, I would just plow on through,

Getting through the Narrows was good because it meant that I could get to Appleton Cove earlier than expected and possibly have my choice of the best anchor spots.

I had stopped in Appleton Cove on the inbound trip.  It is a nice, protected cove with many areas in which boats can anchor.  It can accommodate many boats.  People may say I should have stopped in different places on the way back, but I am basically a conservative person, notwithstanding my many adventures.  I wanted a safe, secure anchorage, and Appleton Cove offered that.

I arrived at Appleton Cove at about 4:40 PM.  There was a large passenger vessel called the "Liseron" anchored in the outer basin.  This is a sister ship to the "Mist Cove," and is about 160' in length.  They had a few skiffs deployed and were running their guests around.  I saw them pick up about 7 or 8 people that were apparently beachcombing in the inner basin.

There were no other boats in the inner basin, and so I got anchored in the best spot.

Distance travelled today was about 50 miles.

A little after I got anchored the Liseron loaded up their guests and their skiffs, pulled their anchor and left the cove.  Then the smaller boats started arriving as I expected that they would.

This is the "Contagious," a small, slow running commercial troller that I had passed along the way up from Sitka.  A little later in the evening I was scoping out the boat with my binoculars and noticed the guy on board wearing a face mask.  Seemed a little strange since I was pretty certain he was alone on board.  I thought perhaps he is "contagious."

Soon after Contagious anchored a couple of other boats came in and anchored nearby.  One was a sailboat named the "Dilligaf."  I would have liked to ask them the meaning of the name.  Also anchored nearby was a 32' Bayliner called the "Pinch Me."  I had seen this boat in the harbor in Sitka and also had heard them when they called the harbormaster requesting a transient slip.  It was funny because the harbormaster did not initially hear their boat name, so he asked for clarification.  The woman on board responded, "Seriously Pinch Me."  So, the harbormaster started calling the boat the "Seriously Pinch Me."  

You can see that it was a very beautiful evening in Appleton Cove.

About 8 PM a very large private yacht (about 100 - 120') named the "Kayana" out of Seattle came in and anchored in the outer basin where the Liseron had been anchored.  Other smaller boats kept streaming in from time to time and found themselves a place to drop anchor.

Since I was out of cell phone range, I had no Internet access and therefore could not check the weather in northern Chatham Strait, which was where my next leg of the trip would take me.  I could not raise the weather channels on my VHF radio.

Chatham Strait is a large body of water and can get downright nasty and dangerous in rough conditions, and I had no desire to face Chatham Strait in those conditions.  I'd rather sit on the anchor for days than to get slammed in Chatham Strait.

I have a Garmin InReach satellite communicator and it allows me to text and email (text only, no graphics or photos) from anywhere.  So, I texted my daughter and asked her to check the marine weather in northern Chatham Strait for the next day.   She sent me a forecast which was very good. I asked her to send another forecast early the next day just for assurance.

The next day I was up early and was underway by about 5:30 AM.  The forecast from Karen had not yet come in, but it looked good and so I got started.

It was several miles in Peril Strait before I made the southbound turn into Chatham Strait.  Conditions were excellent, and it was good day to be running in the Strait.

Right before I got to my destination for the night, Chapin Bay, I started to see sea otters from time to time.  We don't have these around Ketchikan, so it is always a treat to see them.  When I made my 2 trips to Glacier Bay, we saw them in great numbers, but here I only saw singles or doubles.  I tried to get a photo, but they were a little elusive.  They seem to float on their backs while still propelling themselves along in the water.  Don't know how they do that.

Chapin Bay is actually in Frederick Sound, so when I got there, I had Chatham Strait behind me, which was quite a relief.

This is the entrance to Chapin Bay.  I got there about 1:30 PM.  Some may ask, why stop so early in the day?  One has to remember that I was up before 5 AM and had been at the helm underway since 5:30 AM.  Granted, I could probably have made it further along the way into Petersburg, or perhaps into Petersburg itself, but that would have meant several more hours at the helm.  Piloting in calm conditions with the autopilot doing most of the work is not hard, but it is still tiring.  Except for the run between Wrangell and Ketchikan (82 miles) most of my daily runs were about 50 or 60 miles.  I enjoy spending time on the anchor in a beautiful, protected cove.

There were no other boats in Chapin Bay when I arrived, so I anchored in the preferred spot where I had anchored on the outbound trip.  It was dead calm in there and quite beautiful.

Dinner this evening was cooked on the Coleman propane stove on the back deck.

Later in the evening the approximately 50' pleasure boat Grocery Boy came into the cove.  As he went by me I noticed that he has WA registration numbers on the hull, but also had a placard in the pilothouse with AK registration numbers.  Have never seen that before.  He set a couple of crab pots and then dropped anchor quite a way from me at the head of the bay.

Then later the 157' Mist Cove came in and dropped anchor near Grocery Boy.  These were my neighbors for the night in Chapin Bay.

Once again, I got a weather forecast from my daughter for Frederick Sound, which predicted excellent sea conditions.  Good to hear.

The next day I was up early and was underway out of the bay by 5:30 AM.  The weather in Frederick Sound was terrific and the sunrise to the East was photo worthy, although I have to say the photos don't really do it justice.  I need to learn more about my new camera and figure out how to "tweak" the settings to get better photos in different conditions.

The run through Frederick Sound was uneventful.  As I got closer to Petersburg there were more boats in the area.  I saw a US Coast Guard small vessel checking boats and I figured they would stop me.  They did not, just letting me pass by.  Then I saw the boat at the fuel dock in Petersburg and realized they were same guys who stopped me just outside of Wrangell on my outbound trip, so that's why they let me pass on by.

About 1: 30 PM I stopped in at the Petro Marine fuel dock and fueled up, taking on about 93 gallons, more than enough to get me to Ketchikan.

In Petersburg I was assigned the same slip in North Harbor where I had tied up on the way up to Sitka.  I got into the slip OK but the lady from the sailboat Justice in the next slip came over to help which was appreciated.  I chatted with her as I had seen their boat when it was in Ketchikan.  They were from Juneau and had been out 3 months and were on their way back to Juneau.

One of the things that is unique about Petersburg is the herring.  I don't know if it is this way at all times of the year, but it seems that every time I have come through there have been huge schools of herring in and around the harbor and in the channel right in front of the harbor.

People gather on the docks with what we call herring jigs, which is a set of about 6 very small hooks on the same line.  You just throw it out there in the middle of school, jig it up and down a little and you usually get more than 1 herring hooked.  I watched people on the docks doing this, and also from small boats right out in front of the harbor.

If you click on this image to show it larger you can see the angler pulling up the line right at the stern of the blue boat with the gold stripe as 4 herring on the jig, which is not uncommon.

This lady had 3 or 4 on the line, and I tried to get a photo as she pulled them in, but she was too fast for me. She would probably be mortified if she knew I published this photo!

These people were jigging for herring from small boats right out in front of North Harbor.  Those larger boats are either at anchor or are underway in the channel.

There is a cannery right there next to the harbormaster office and there are commercial boats coming in at all times of the day and night to unload, or to buy ice and bait.  This photo is of a fish "tender" unloading at the cannery.  The tenders are under contract to the cannery.  They go out near the fishing grounds and buy the fish from the boats right there at the grounds.  I have never been a commercial fisherman but what I have heard is that the price paid by the tenders is a bit lower than they would get if they sold directly to the cannery.  But if they sell to the tender, they don't have to burn the fuel and spend the time it would take to run to the cannery.  So, each fisherman must decide if he wants to sell to a tender or run to the cannery.  

The tender has a lot of salmon on board, and they use a large vacuum pump to pull the fish out of the hold and send it up to the cannery, which is many feet above them.  At the cannery a row of 4 or 5 guys are grabbing the fish as they come out of the hose and flinging them into bins based on their species.  I suspect this tender had Chums, Silvers, Pinks, and maybe some Sockeye and Kings.

There are a lot of big boats in Petersburg harbor.  I had to crane my neck upward to even see the front of this boat.  This photo is of a 1500 lb anchor on one of the large fish processors.  By contrast, my anchor is 20 kg, about 44 lbs.

Leaving Petersburg southbound for Wrangell and then Ketchikan requires transiting the Wrangell Narrows.  The guide book tells me that the currents meet at a certain point in the Narrows, and that in order to have favorable current through the entire Narrows one must time his entry on the last portion of the high tide such that you arrive at that midway point right at high tide.  Then the current reverses and you have favorable current on the southern portion of the Narrows.  I have tried to hit this mark many times, and have missed it many times.  At other times I have ignored it and just headed into the Narrows ignoring the currents and ended up fighting adverse currents for hours, burning much more fuel than was needed.

For this transit I really tried to figure it out.  The problem that I faced was that when I Googled "Tides in Wrangell Narrows" I got several disparate results.  Some of them were 2 hours apart.  I finally found a table showing the tides at a place called Papke's Landing which is just a mile or so south of the point where the currents meet.  That's the time I used as my mark to hit at high tide.

I pulled out from Petersburg harbor a little before noon on Friday 8/13/2022.  The tide was really ripping right in front of North Harbor.  There is a nav aid marker there and it was heeled way over on its side and the current was rushing past it like a raging river.  I would have liked to get a photo, but the harbor was busy, and I had to control the boat in that current.

When I first headed down into the Narrows, I was barely turning the engines at 1000 RPM and was going over 9 knots.  

When I was just a mile or so into the Narrows I noticed a very large fish tender was creeping up on my from astern, going faster than I was.  There was also a pleasure cruiser right in front of the tender that was moving faster than me.  Some parts of the Narrows are very tight, but there are some more open areas. I sped up a bit until I came to an open area and then I just pulled over to the side and let both vessels pass me.  I fell in line after them and ended up following the pleasure craft all the way through the Narrows.

I have to say I timed this passage pretty well.  I did get to Papke's Landing a little ahead of the high tide, but not much.  So, I ended up having favorable current almost all the way through the Narrows.

When I got to the southern end of the Narrows the big fish tender and the pleasure craft turned away and I headed over towards Wrangell on my own.  It's about 20 miles in Sumner Strait to Wrangell from the south end of the Narrows.

The sea conditions in Sumner Strait were beyond excellent.

As mentioned before I feel an obligation to take a photo of Two Tree Island every time I pass it, so here it is.

Here is the view of Wrangell from about 3 miles out.

I got into Wrangell at about 5 PM, and got tied up at the transient float in Heritage Harbor.

My dock mate was the super yacht "CID."  I Googled it and it comes in at about 115'.  It is just about as wide as my boat is long.

It was a very beautiful evening in Wrangell.  I walked out to the spit in front of the harbor.  There was a boat cruising by in the setting sun.  (I think I need to look into filters for my camera that would allow me to get this type of photo a little better.)

There was a guy and his daughter (I assume) and their 2 dogs playing around on the beach.  They were throwing sticks out into the water and the 2 dogs would race out there to try and get them.

In the early evening as it started to get dark the CID turned on her underwater lights.  This is a relatively new fad in boating, for boats both large and small, but especially for super yachts.  These lights are a few inches below the waterline, all the way around the boat.  I learned that those on the CID cycled through about 6 different colors.  Pretty cool!

Of course I checked the weather in Clarence Strait for the next day and it was excellent.

In the morning I was about 4 AM, checking the weather again.  All good.  

I was just waiting for daylight.  I can run in the dark on radar, but you can't see the logs and debris in the water, so I don't do it unless I have to.  I ended up pulling out about 4:45 AM, just as it was getting light.  The CID pulled out right behind me.  I hadn't even heard her engines running, although they must have been.

The run south through Zimovia Strait and then eventually into Clarence Strait was uneventful, except to say it was stunningly beautiful.

I'm afraid I must wax philosophical for just a moment.  I am 71, almost 72 years old now.  At my age I have experienced the loss of some friends and family to accident or disease.  I have my share of hardships in my life (divorce, loss of a child) but have not experienced cancer or any of the other debilitating diseases that can and do affect many people my age.  On days like this, when the boat is running well and the weather is stunning, I truly do appreciate being still here and still able to experience it.  I'm going to continue to take boat trips as long as I am physically and financially able to do so.

A few final photos taken in Zimovia Strait.

I stopped to get fuel, and then was in my home stall in Bar Harbor by about 4 PM.

Total mileage for the Sitka to Ketchikan run was 292 miles.

It's nice to take trips, but it's also nice to be home after 21 days out.

2022-08-02 In And Around Sitka

This blog posting is technically not about a boat trip, so anyone reading this expecting to read about boating can pass on by.  

In the summer of 1965 my family and I moved to Sitka, AK from Palmyra, NJ.  I was in between my freshman and sophomore years of high school.  My father had taken a job as principal of Sheldon Jackson High School, which at the time had about 65 students.

This move was a real turning point in my life.  Palmyra NJ is just across the bridge from Philadelphia PA and so many of our church activities were in Philadelphia.  I also attended Boy Scout activities in Philadelphia, so I was attuned to the urban city life at that point.

However, moving to Sitka was much more than just a physical move.  It was a very real and very abrupt complete change in lifestyle.  Sitka at that time had no cruise ships, and logging and commercial fishing were the primary economies of the community.  There were a few tourists, but there was no jet service at the time and the only real access to the outside was via the Alaska Marine Highway System, which is how we arrived in town.

At the time that we made this move the US airlines were on strike.  So, we flew from New Jersey up into eastern Canada and flew Canadian airlines across the country, eventually ending up in Prince Rupert BC.  I had never been on an airplane before this move. We boarded the AMHS ferry Taku there in Prince Rupert and made the run to Sitka.

Even though I only lived full time in Sitka for about 3 years, they were my high school years, so they were very formative in my life.  I also worked in Sitka every summer during my college years, right up until I entered the work force after graduating from college in May 1973.

I had of course visited Sitka a few times during my 37 1/2-year tenure as IT Manager of First Bank, because during that time we opened the branch in Sitka.  But prior to this boat trip it had been many years since I visited Sitka.

Of course, the reason I came to Sitka was to have repairs made to the flybridge enclosure on my boat.  I could not find anyone in the other SE Alaska communities that was able and willing to do the work.

Somehow, I found Coral Pendell and Skookum Canvasworks in Sitka who told me that if I could get the boat there by August 1st, she could do the work.

The first thing she and her helper Gary did was remove almost all of the panels on the enclosure.  The plan was to replace all the clear vinyl (Strataglass) and replace all the zippers.  In the process they would also replace any snaps or push buttons that looked like they needed it.  

Also, there were 2 spots on the top piece where the fabric had started to tear due to tension on a structural joint underneath.  She said she could put reinforcing patches over these 2 spots.

They took off all the panels except the front window and the top.  We thought we might take out the front window too, but it is wired into a switch for the windshield wiper and washer, so we decided not to take the window out.  

I think the boat looks a little naked without most of its clothing.

My boat was moored in Eliason Harbor, which did not exist when I went to high school here.

Right next to Eliason Harbor is Thompsen Harbor.  This harbor was here when I lived here, but it was much smaller and a lot dingier.  I can tell they have completely rebuilt it with all new floats and electricity.  It handles mostly smaller boats, but they have places on the ends of the main floats that can accommodate larger vessels.

While I was standing there enjoying the sunshine a young boy drove up on his bicycle, pulling a small wagon behind it.  There have been a lot of Pink Salmon jumping inside the harbor areas.  He went down along the slope and started casting.  It made me feel good to see a young person enjoying the outdoors instead of sitting at home playing video games.

I took a walk through town.  I'm sure I looked like a tourist, since I had my camera slung around my neck on a strap. I didn't care though, I just wanted to get a few pictures of the downtown areas.

This is the ramp going up to the bridge that goes over to Japonski Island, where the airport is.  When I was in high school, and dating a girl who lived on Mt. Edgecumbe, the bridge did not exist yet.  They had what they called a "shore boat" that carried passengers only (no vehicles) across to the island.  They ran on a schedule, and the last 2 boats were at 11:30 PM and then 12:15 AM.  My curfew was midnight, so I had to get her on the 11:30 PM boat.  I have to say that a few times, OK, maybe many times, I missed that 11:30 PM boat and therefore missed my curfew, so I'd get yelled at when I got home.  They dedicated the bridge on August 19, 1972, our wedding day.  How ironic.

I took a photo of the bridge from the boat as I was leaving Sitka harbor.

This is Sitka High School where I graduated in June of 1969.  Try as I might I could not generate any feelings of nostalgia as I looked at this school, even though I have so many strong memories of my high school years.  It has been totally redesigned, and even though the building is in the same location as it was back then, the front entrance is not where it used to be, and they have made many additions to the building and to the parking areas.  

This is the Sitka Pioneers Home.  It is an old age nursing home for Alaskans who meet certain Alaskan residency requirements.  There is one in Ketchikan as well.  I don't know if I will ever qualify for residency in a Pioneers Home due to my 3-year absence when I moved to Gig Harbor.

This the Westmark Hotel.  It was built when I was in high school, but I don't recall it being this large.  Perhaps they have expanded it.  The area just in front of it and to the right used to the Sitka Cold Storage.  I worked there in the summers between my years of college.  One summer some kids got into the building after hours and were playing with matches and the whole plant burned down.  I watched it burn.

This is St. Michael's Cathedral, a Russian Orthodox church.  It dominates the downtown area, as it is literally in the middle of town.  The main street goes around it on either side.  It burned down either while I was in high school, or just prior to my arrival, I don't recall which.  I know that for all or most of my high school years there was no building there, just a basement.  I had heard that they were still holding services in the basement, and I'd see people going in and out via the basement doors. 

This is the Sheldon Jackson Museum.  It looks exactly the same as it did when I arrived in town in the summer of 1965.  My mother (now deceased) was quite an artist.  One of the things she did when we got into town was to spend time at the museum and sketch the Alaska Native artifacts that were in there.  Then the museum staff would print these sketches into post cards, note cards, etc. and sell them to museum visitors.  

These are some of the buildings of Sheldon Jackson College campus.  As I said, my father was initially the principal of Sheldon Jackson High School.  But after the first school year the decision was made to close the high school.  When it was first opened most of the small communities throughout SE Alaska did not have their own schools, and SJ was a much-needed resource.  But by the summer of 1966 that had all changed so there was no need for the high school.  My father was then made Dean of Sheldon Jackson College, which I think at that time was a 2-year college.

I graduated from Sitka High School in June 1969.  That same summer my parents left town, and I took a summer job with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Sports Fish Division.  My father had made an arrangement with the college for me to have a room in the Allen Building.  I don't recall having to pay rent, but maybe I did.  It was just a dorm room, with no private bathroom, and no cooking facilities, but for a kid just out of high school and working full-time it worked out fine for me.  My room was on the 2nd floor in the front, overlooking the big lawn.

When my family lived in Sitka for those few years, we lived in a college owned house just down the road from the campus.  It looks a bit different now than it did then, but I have a lot of memories from living in this house.  The area behind and around the house back then was all just undeveloped forest.  I would take my .22 rifle and spend countless hours roaming the woods behind out house.  Good memories of those times.

On August 19, 1972, I was married to Linda Blankenship in the First Presbyterian Church on Sawmill Creek Road.  Pastor Gavin officiated.  I would have liked to get a better photo from the front, but they have the road all torn up in this area and traffic is severely restricted.  It occurs to me that this August 19th it will have been 50 years since that date.  I was 21 at the time.  

Now, back to the boat, here are the "after" photos.  I know, you can't see anything different.  What they did was replace all the clear vinyl panels.  These had clouded up over the years.  And they replaced all the zippers which connect all the panels together.  A couple of these zippers had already failed, and I could see that several others were nearing failure.  The tan colored fabric was left in place as it is still in extremely good shape.  

Misson completed.  Now all I had to do was negotiate the 290 miles back to Ketchikan.

2022-07-23 Trip To Sitka

I may have mentioned in previous posts that I have been having a very difficult time finding someone to make much needed repairs to the enclosure over my flybridge.  It was originally made in late 2007, and it was done with very high-quality materials.  It has lasted a long time, but the severe weather in SE Alaska takes a toll on everything that is exposed.

I started discussions with Ketchi-Canvas in November 2021.  It took until mid-February 2022 to get her down there to give me an estimate, which I immediately accepted.  Sometime around mid-May she informed me that she was not going to do the project.

I tried contacting boat canvas people in Wrangell, Petersburg, Juneau and even Prince Rupert, with no success.  So, when I finally found someone in Sitka willing to do the work, I decided I was making a trip to Sitka.

I had never run my boat to Sitka, so this was going to be a challenge.  And it was even more of a challenge because I needed to make the trip solo, having no one available to go with me.

The lady in Sitka said if I could get the boat there by August 1st, she could start work on it then.

It is about 290 miles to Sitka, assuming one goes by way of Wrangell & Petersburg.  You can go through Rocky Pass instead of Wrangell Narrows and by-pass Petersburg if you want, but Rocky Pass is fraught with hazards, and so I made the decision not to go that route. If I had someone to go with me I probably would have opted to go through Rocky Pass.

Here was my intended route.

Day 1: Ketchikan to Wrangell - 85 miles.

This is the longest day in terms of miles.  But I have made the run to Wrangell many times in one long day.  The first 35 miles or so is exposed in Clarence Strait, but after that the route is in more protected waters.  You need favorable conditions in Clarence Strait to make this run, unless you want to get your butt kicked.

Day 2: Wrangell to Petersburg - 40 miles.

The first 20 miles or so is exposed in Sumner Strait, but after that you are in Wrangell Narrows, which while circuitous, is mostly protected.  The guidebooks advise to try to catch the last part of the high tide so that you time your passage such that you reach about halfway through the Narrows at high tide.  That way you can have favorable current through the entire passage through Wrangell Narrows.

Day 3: Petersburg to Chapin Bay - 55 miles.

This segment is exposed for almost the entire way in Frederick Sound, which is a fairly large body of water.  When you head north out of Petersburg you are almost immediately dumped into Frederick Sound.  This was to be my first night on the anchor, since in Wrangell and Petersburg I would be in harbors.

Day 4: Chapin Bay to Appleton Cove - 60 miles.

About 35 miles of this is very exposed in Chatham Strait.  Before this trip I had only been in Chatham Strait twice, and both times I got beat up pretty good.  So, I had a healthy respect for Chatham Strait and did not intend to run this portion until weather conditions were favorable.

This was to be my second night on the anchor.

Day 5: Appleton Cove to Sitka - 50 miles

This leg is down Peril Strait, then later Olga Strait and Neva Strait.  You also must pass through Sergius Narrows, which is one of those places where the current can be very strong so you must time your passage through there at slack tide.  This route down into Sitka is mostly protected, with a few open areas as you pass from one strait to another.  

I left my slip in Bar Harbor in Ketchikan at about 5:30 AM on Saturday 07/23/2022.  The weather forecast in Clarence Strait was excellent, so I wanted to take advantage of that.  It's about a 10-hour run to Wrangell for me, but in good conditions and now with my autopilot, it is quite enjoyable.  I figured I'd rather get to Sitka a little early than to arrive late and miss my window with the canvas lady.  I also figured there would probably be some weather days where I was forced to hold up waiting for better weather.

I arrived at Wrangell's Heritage Harbor at 3:45 PM, travelling 82.9 miles this day.  Heritage Harbor is their "newer" harbor, with Reliance Harbor being the "old" harbor.  Heritage Harbor has 2 very long transient docks to which boats can tie up on either side.  So, they can accommodate a large number of transient boats there.  There are power pedestals every few yards and you have to call the harbor guys on the radio to come down and unlock the power if you want to plug in.

I didn't take any photos on the way up to Wrangell as the trip was mostly uneventful.  I've made this trip so many times it is becoming "old hat" as they say.  The first time I made this trip was back before the days of GPS chart plotters.  I used paper charts and a compass to find my way.  That makes for a very different type of trip. 

I've always been impressed with the color of the water here in Wrangell.  It is jade green.  I'm not sure if that is due to the proximity to the Stikine River, or perhaps to the LeConte Glacier.  But it has always been that way ever since I've been coming here.

I ended up staying in Wrangell for 2 nights because the weather forecast in Sumner Strait was not great the first day.

Wrangell does not get the large cruise ships.  I'm not sure if that is due to the shallow water around the town, or just that they don't have docking facilities for the larger ships.  They do get the smaller cruise ships, and there was one in town as I left.

They also get the National Geographic ships.  Not sure you would call them cruise ships.  Compared to my boat they are huge but compared to the big cruise ships that regularly visit in Ketchikan they are pretty small.  This one is called the Sea Lion.  I think they do a more personalized experience in SE Alaska.  This one was at anchor in front of the town because the other ship was in their only dock.

It was a nice sunny day when I left Wrangell, and I was up on the flybridge enjoying the weather and making my way towards the Wrangell Narrows, which lead to Petersburg.  My morning run was interrupted briefly by the US Coast Guard, who stopped me for a safety inspection.  They check for your boat papers, fire extinguishers, life jackets, flares, and placards concerning dumping of trash and discharge of oil. The first thing they usually ask is if you have any weapons on board.  And if so, where are they?  I felt like saying, this is Alaska, everyone has weapons.  But these guys said they were from LA, and just helping out, so maybe they don't know that almost all Alaskans have weapons.

In any case I passed everything with flying colors, and they gave me my "good as gold" report.  This means that if another Coast Guard boat attempts to board me for another safety inspection within a year, I can get a pass.  Just show them my copy of the boarding report.

 

On the way out of Wrangell you pass by Two Tree Island.  I always take a photo as I cruise by.  I think there is a third tree sort of hiding behind the two main trees.  Will they have to rename the island now?

I have been through Wrangell Narrows many times over the years, in many different boats.  Each time I try to time my passage such that I catch the last part of the high tide going in, and the first part of the low tide going out.  So far, including this trip, I've never managed to hit it just right.  In my defense I think the tide tables that I referenced for Wrangell Narrows gave me faulty information.  When you are fighting the tide in Wrangell Narrows you sort of get the feeling that you are going upstream in a strong running river.  You burn a lot of fuel, but you don't get anywhere very fast.

I arrived at Petersburg about 3:30 PM.  I pulled into the fuel dock before going into my transient slip and took on about 90 gallons of fuel.  In Petersburg they don't have designated transient floats as Wrangell does.  They just keep close track of which slips are open and they assign you a slip in one of their 3 harbors, North, Middle & South.  I was in North Harbor, right in front of the harbormaster's office.  They rebuilt this whole harbor while I was down in Gig Harbor, and they are very nice main and finger floats now. 

My next segment was to take me out into Frederick Sound.  Since I had cell signal, I could get the latest marine weather and saw that the next day had a good forecast.  So, I was only in Petersburg for less than 24 hours.

Petersburg does not get any big or small cruise ships because their harbor is so shallow.  I think it averages about 30' deep or so in front of most of the town.  They also have very strong current right in front of town, so you have to be wary of that when moving around, going into the fuel dock or into a slip.

The sea conditions were great in Frederick Sound, but visibility was very poor.  I had to run on radar virtually all day, something I've not had to do for quite a while.  Fortunately, my radar works fine, even though it is 15 years old and could use an upgrade.  I also have AIS (Automatic Identification System).  This is a system whereby larger vessels broadcast an AIS signal which identifies them and provides a lot of information about them, such as vessel name, speed, direction, location, etc.  This shows up on my GPS chart plotter, so I can see them when they are within range.  I can receive AIS signals, but I do not broadcast them.  It's not required for vessels of my size, but I may look into how much it would cost to add this functionality to the boat.

I was concerned about going into Chapin Bay, a place I have never been, totally on radar with no good visibility.  But right on schedule, about 1:30 PM, right in front of Chapin Bay, the fog cleared, and the sun came out.

There was no one else in Chapin Bay when I went in.  I got anchored without issues in about 70' of water.  It was a beautiful spot, and a nice place to spend the night.

Toward evening time, just before dark, the vessel "Mist Cove" came in and anchored.  I initially estimated this in my notes as about 80' in length.  When I saw her again up close in Sitka, I thought she looked a lot larger than 80'.  So, I Googled her and found the website where they offer tours.  She is actually 157' on length, so I was a bit off on my estimate.  

The next day was a short run around the south end of Admiralty Island, and then a long slog northward up into Chatham Strait.  I was very concerned about the sea conditions for this leg of my journey because Chatham Strait can be brutal.  I was prepared to wait it out in Chapin Bay for as long as necessary to wait for good conditions in the strait.

Because I was out of cell phone signal range, I had no way to access the Internet, and thus could not look up the marine weather for Chatham Strait.  I have the Garmin InReach, which claims to offer marine weather forecasts as a service, but when I investigated that I discovered they only provide marine weather forecasts for locations that are at least 5 miles offshore.  Not very helpful for me.  However, also through the InReach I can send and receive texts and emails. So, I just contacted my two very wonderful daughters and asked them to look up the marine weather in Chatham Strait and send it to me via the InReach.  This worked out well, and I could tell the forecast for the next day was good.

I should also mention that there are marine weather channels on the VHF radio, but for whatever reason I could not raise any of them from inside the anchorage in Chapin Bay.

Even on good days Chatham Strait can be rough, so I took precautions.  When travelling solo and it gets rough you cannot just leave the helm and run around the boat preparing it for rough water.  Before I even left the anchorage, I laid the lower helm station chair down on the floor.  It always falls over in rough water.  I took everything off the counters that could fly around and laid it on the floor or in a sink.  Of course, everything on deck that could slide around or move around was already tied down.  

I pulled anchor about 5 AM and pulled out of Chapin Bay at about 5:30 AM.

The first leg of this segment took me around the southern tip of Admiralty Island, it was a little "sporty" there.  I was glad I had prepared for rough water.  I was taking seas on the starboard front quarter, and a couple of times waves splashed up and over the bow.  But the farther I got around that corner, and the more northerly I was able to go in Chatham Strait, the better the sea conditions got.

This is a cruise ship I saw also making the run up into Chatham Strait.

It was a sunny day, and the water was glistening in some spots.  Beautiful.

About 1:30 PM I made my way into Appleton Cove.  This was another spot that I had never been to, but my cruising guidebook showed where the best anchorage spot was.  Unfortunately, when I got in there, there was a 37' Nordic Tug named "New Freedom" already anchored in that very spot.  They must have the same guidebook that I have.  There was room so I found a spot nearby and anchored in about 40' of water.  Home for the night.

While I was anchored a couple of other boats came in and anchored nearby.  This one is a 55' Selene named "Amavi."

Sergius Narrows is about 22 miles from Appleton Cove, and the slack tide was about noon.  I figured I needed to pull out about 8:30 AM in order to get there in time.  Better to get there a little early and just drift around and wait then to get there late and miss the slack tide.

It turned out that the other 2 boats anchored near me were also destined for the noon slack tide at Sergius Narrows.  When I got ready to pull my anchor I noticed that both of them had already started pulling theirs.

The Amavi, a 55' Selene, is a different class of boat than mine.  She has many features that my boat does not have.  When it comes to pulling anchor, those larger cruising boats have a high-pressure saltwater hose positioned right on the bow so that as you pull up the anchor rode, the mud and silt is blown off by the high-pressure water.  Most of those boats also have a chain counter that tells them exactly how much chain they have out.

When I went up to the flybridge helm to get everything ready for the day's cruise I noticed some stowaways had gotten aboard over the night.  Fortunately, they were not the biting kind of flies.

As it turned out the New Freedom, the Amavi and Faraway made up our own little armada heading for Sergius Narrows.  The weather was pretty snotty most of the day, but since the approximately 50 miles to Sitka was mostly protected waters, rough water was not an issue.  Visibility was very poor all day, and there was heavy rain most of the day as well.  I ended up using the radar at various times during the day.

We all timed our arrival by slowing down as needed to make the arrival at Sergius Narrows right at noon.  A power troller from Ketchikan, the Megan, joined our little parade as we made it through Sergius Narrows with no issues.

Shortly after was went through the Narrows the Amavi pulled away and went somewhere else.  I ended up following the New Freedom the entire way, all the way into Sitka harbor.  Even when the visibility dropped too low to see New Freedom with my eyes, I could always see her AIS signal as she was broadcasting AIS. 

Sitka has a large breakwater that protects the inner harbors and the area between Japonski Island (where the airport is) and Baranof, the island where Sitka is.

I called the harbormaster and was assigned a slip in Eliason Harbor.  I was securely tied up in the slip at about 4 PM.  I had logged 293 miles on this trip.

The canvas lady was scheduled to start work on Monday morning, so I had a few days to kill before that time.